To help her 1st grader, mom Becky Sprague created a game that made studying more fun.

First, she created a game board inside a colorful file folder. Most squares on the game board contained either the letter “S” or the letter “R.” A few had special directions, such as “Go ahead 2 squares,” “Go back 1 square,” “Lose a turn,” or “Take an extra turn.” Then all she needed was a die to roll and two markers (one for each player).

Becky printed her son’s spelling words on index cards. She also printed some words from earlier lists that had been problems for her son.

To play the game, each player rolls the die and moves that number of spaces. If the square reads “S,” the player has to spell the word. If the square reads “R,” the player has to read the word.

“When I land on an ‘S,’ my son has to read the word. Then he has to listen carefully to make sure I spell the word correctly. I don’t always get it right,” Becky says.

She keeps all the old sets of spelling words, and they play the game on weekends. That way, she is sure he remembers what he’s learned. The game is so popular that her older daughter wants to play with her spelling words.

When Becky’s preschooler wanted to play, she added a deck of alphabet cards. Instead of spelling a word, the player has to tell what sound the letter makes.

Copyright © Parent Institute